Welcome to GISH PICKS: CURATED CULTURE FOR KIDS AND ADULTS! I’m Sarah Gish, an info-preneur and culture sleuth who finds the unusual and cool in Houston each and every week. Join me as I shine a light on special gems and unique Houston fun. I love this city and want to show you the people and the places and the events that make it great (see more about my wishes for that here). And I want to make it easy so I sort through the cornucopia of events offered each weekend and PICK only three for FAMILIES and three for ADULTS to recommend to you. That way you’ll be all set when Friday hits! If you’re new here, please read below for more about this blog and then check out my PICKS for this weekend, further below.

For you parents and caregivers reading this: hang on, you’re almost at the end of summer! If you still want to tuck the kiddos safely into a camp or two, check out my huge database at www.DayCampsHouston.com and also take a look at my latest camp blast in which I include the camps that are still happening this month as well as those that offer drop-in programs.

This week’s VIDEO PICK is “A Soundtrack for the City,” inspired by Houston itself and performed by the Houston Symphony. It’s quite beautiful and includes comments from people like Lyle Lovett and Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top). For my VIDEO PICKS, I have occasionally been posting my PICKS-ON-WHEELS adventures, but they are on hiatus this summer. So, I’ll be choosing Houston-oriented videos to share with you from the Houston Visitors Bureau and the Heritage Society.

MORE ABOUT THIS BLOG

We are the most diverse city in the country, not only because of the over 150 languages spoken here every day, but also because of the diversity of events offered and places to hang our (cowboy) hats. Because of that, I decided back in 2004 to start sharing my adventures in Houston and my knowledge of it with others via GISH PICKS. And, since 2016, I have been bringing it to life with my PICKS-ON-WHEELS Facebook Live segments in which I travel around our city in my Phoenix Rising Art Car. Tune in here each Friday from 12-12:30pm to join the convo. My adventures will sometimes be posted as my weekly VIDEO PICK in this blog.

A note about the social media for GISH PICKS: please LIKE our Facebook page for family PICKSand our Facebook page for adult PICKS. Click “See first” in the dropdown menu on the LIKE button so you won’t miss a post! And please follow me on Instagram and Twitter. You’ll get all my CULTURE PICKS and more that way. And there’s one last way to stay in touch with me! I organize many events, such as labyrinth walks and workshops, so if you’d like to be informed of those before everyone else, please subscribe to my Gish Creative list here.

SPREAD THE WORD AND ADVERTISE IN GISH PICKS!

Please be sure to tell your friends about GISH PICKS – the more people who know about these unique cultural events, the more unique cultural events the organizations will offer us. Please also tell the orgs that I sent you. My business grows by word of mouth so I thank you for your continued support.

And, last but not least: this blog is free to you, my dear reader, but it’s not free for me to produce. I pay my designer and I spend many hours researching, compiling, and writing GISH PICKS each week. If you have an event you’d like me to PICK, please email me and let’s see how I can help. With me on your team, you’ll reach thousands of Houstonians in a quick-and-easy way!

Have a great weekend and please love one another, please share this, and please – go IGNITE YOUR LIFE!

Here’s a fun way to spend this time in The Woodlands: head to the Woodlands Children’s Museum this Friday, August 17, 11:30am for a special sing-along concert with Prelude Music Classes for Children. It’ll be a special interactive musical experience for the whole family! Prelude was founded by husband and wife team, Ana Treviño-Godfrey and Jonathan Godfrey. The acclaimed opera singer and renowned violinist (also founders of the chamber ensemble Mercury) believe that every child has musical ability and that music helps build community and heal souls.

If your kids like LEGO® brick sculptures, this one’s for them! “Park People” is a globally-recognized interactive installation by Nathan Sawaya which is wrapping up its Houston tour with an exhibit at 2 Houston Centerthrough August 24. This is a fun way to explore downtown Houston (the Center is at 909 Fannin Street) while seeing some cool art. Note that the building is only open weekdays, 8am-5pm. Park on the street or in the building and go to the P1 Lobby Level.

Enjoy “Free Market Square” in historic Third Ward on the third Saturday of every month from 10am-6pm at 2301 Elgin Street; the next one is this Saturday, August 18. This community marketplace aims to reignite the historic legacy of Historic Third Ward and features interactive art for children and adults and live performances. The market focuses on local produce, food and drinks, designer products, original handmade goods, and vintage resellers.

ComedySportz has been in Houston for over two decades – and they still present family-friendly shows every Friday and Saturday at 8pm. My family loves them! The performance is set up as a battle between 2 comedy teams and no two matches are alike because everything is improvised. The audience helps pick what games the teams will play and ultimately decides which team is the evening's winner. ComedySportz is now downtown, at 2201 Preston Street, and tickets are $16-$20.

The Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble presents “Closeness,” an evening of new dance, music, and film that explores the idea of closeness between people. The program will feature the premiere of the dance "Closeness" as well as the dance “Rain Girl” and two short films. The show takes its title from the album "Closeness" made by legendary bassist and composer Charlie Haden in 1976. There is one show only – this Saturday, August 18 at 8pm – and tickets are $20-$35 (there is a special “Art for All” price of $5 if you feel you absolutely can’t afford the $20!)

GUIDANCE SESSIONS (Mondays) and LABYRINTH WALKS (Second Saturdays)

I offer intuitive guidance sessions every Monday at Body Mind & Soul ‪from 10:30am-5:30pm and I would love to help Y-O-U. Let’s connect if you are wondering what to do with your life, whether it’s in the personal realm or the professional arena (or both). I use my intuitive skills and my many years of studying people to help you FOCUS – on you, your dreams and desires, and how to manifest them. And if you don’t know what your passions are, I will guide you in discovering them. Finding your personal mission will exponentially increase your ability to succeed in life while also attracting an abundance of joy. Sessions are $100/hour and $50/thirty minutes and take place at the store – 7951 Katy Freeway. Call them at ‪713.993.0550 to book an appointment.NEW: I am now doing guidance sessions by telephone – we can connect from anywhere, anytime! Call me at 713.492.1173 for more information about that service. Please note that the fee for sessions by phone is the same.

And if you’re looking for a way to increase the peace in your life, please join me for our “Second Saturday Labyrinth Walks” at the beautiful Hines Center for Spirituality and Prayer in downtown Houston at 500 Fannin Street. My next walk will be Saturday, September 8, 9am-11am. Free parking is available in the Christ Church Cathedral garage at 559 San Jacinto Street; bring your ticket in to get it validated. We are creating quite a community with these monthly walks – join us! New people will tour the center and we’ll all walk the labyrinth and make art. I am a trained labyrinth facilitator and love sharing what I know with others. Register for the walk here or at the door. You’ll leave with something you’ve made, a list of Houston area labyrinths, and a handout on the art of walking labyrinths. If you’d like to read more about my work and Houston labyrinths, click here for a recent article in the Houston Chronicle.

GISH PICKS: CURATED CULTURE FOR KIDS AND ADULTS is a free weekly email in which I cull through the HUNDREDS of events offered in our city each week and PICK just three for adults and three for kids to recommend. It’s #GishPicks #CuratedCulture to help you plan your weekend! I know many of you go to events based on GISH PICKS recommendations; PLEASE remember to tell the organization that you are there because of us. Word-of-mouth like yours helps our business to grow. In the same spirit, please also feel free to share GISH PICKS with friends and families.

Do you have something you would like to promote on GISH PICKS? You can promote cultural events, products or services to Houstonians all over the city and the surrounding area who are curious individuals, involved citizens and great shoppers. We love doing this community service and want to keep it free for our readers but in order to justify the hours spent researching, writing and designing this newsletter, we need advertising support. If you'd like to learn more, please click below.

The purpose of GISH PICKS is to help Houstonians become aware of all the interesting and unique things they can do in Houston and the surrounding area. Exploring your city is a great way to #IgniteYourOwnLife and we are so happy to help you do that. Please do give me feedback and ideas, as you are out there in the trenches also looking for interesting things and I want to hear what you find.

If you are having trouble getting to a website listed here, try hitting the "Ctrl" button and left-clicking on the web address, which should make it "live".

For more about my personal, family, and business enrichment company, Gish Creative, and the services we offer, please click here. You are on this list because I thought this e-newsletter would be helpful to you or because you signed up for it. Please feel free to tell your friends to subscribe by clicking here. My goal is to serve as an information resource for Houston kids and adults through my various endeavors, including: